Driving across the North Island

We left Auckland by car on the 22nd after completing two days of voluntary work at the Auckland Museum, cataloguing. Leaving Auckland was very exciting because of the opportunity to see more of the countryside in New Zealand. The drive took us along State Highway One to Hatepe on the first day, about a four hour drive. Cath made sure we stopped at the Haku falls so I could see this beautiful part of the landscape.

Ellen's grandparents have a place in Hatepe which gave us a pleasant rest overnight. Near to the edge of lake Taupo and surrounded by woodland, the building we stayed in is called a bach (pronounced batch) and is common amongst New Zealanders who need a place out of town for their holidays. The Andersen bach is full of books and pictures of sailing ships and furniture from the sixties and seventies. The bach has been in the family since the sixties, and the whole family use it over the summer for swimming in the lake and in the winter for skiing at the nearby volcano!

Continuing on State Highway One south from Taupo towards Wellington, on the 23rd, I was treated to a view of Mount Ruapehu and Tongariro, two of the active volcanoes in the area. Neither were erupting and both were swathed in cloud. We have determined to come back here to hike some time around the New Year. This part of New Zealand became Mordor in the film adaptation of LOTR, because it's a desert of brown grey rocks and cliffs. After several hours of driving we passed through Foxton where Ellen's Mum grew up and I had the chance to meet Uncle Basil and Uncle Russell. We only stayed for a moment because we had further to drive, on our way down to Wellington, which we reached at about six in the evening. Wellington is a harbour city, and is the capital of New Zealand.